Tuesday, 5 May 2015

Total Babes In Their Heyday

I'm loving Heydays, the second LP from Ohio (and Cloud Nothings offshoot) Total Babes. It reeks of a slacker guitar pop vibe that Malkmus et al might have nodded nonchalantly to, if they infused their sound with a little more distortion and serration. It isn’t overtly serious though – come on, they are called Total Babes! – and it is this precipice between earnestness, aggression and flippancy that they teeter confidently on. The addition of Emeralds alum John Elliott on synth has infused tracks like 'Repeat Gold' and 'Can I Turn You On' with gravitas while opening up new, unexpected horizon. And Cloud Nothings’ frontman Dylan Baldi pops up on 'Circling', delivering a skronked-out sax throughline that helps to elevate an already nutso track (Elliott's space-invaders effects are most prevalent here also) to a delightful level of aggro intensity.

I actually was reminded of retired Brisbane band Nova Scotia when listening to segments of Heydays, especially tracks like 'We'll Come Around' and the title track. There is a irreverent racket imbued with an innate sense of melody and a sunny disposition that makes the album a blessing, just on the cusp of summer. Pre-order it here (out through Wichita Recordings later this month). Total Babes are supporting the brilliant Pile in London on the 10th and 11th of June (at the Lexington and Old Blue Last respectively) - cannot bloody wait.

No comments:

Post a Comment

About

It was early on a Sunday morning at ATP - A Nightmare Before Christmas 2009. After downing a fair few, at 4am we decided to cook a curry. It was during the consumption of this drunkenly delicious breakfast treat that we decided to actually do something about the music we talk about all the time.

So we started a blog – and Sonic Masala was born. Now into its fourth year, the blog has spread out to call both Australia and the UK its home (and the rest of the world), and has expanded to include gigs, festivals and a record label under its black umbrella. Come on, eat the noize.

If an mp3 is up here, it's because we have been talking about it, and think the whole world needs to know more. It's there to give you a little taste. Then, if you like, check out the band live and spend all your hard earned cash on their records. If we've posted up an mp3 of your stuff and you're not too keen on the idea, let us know and we'll happily take it down pronto.

Get in touch

If you want to get in touch with Sonic Masala please email us at sonic.masala@gmail.com.